Sumit Nagal Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sumit Nagal is an Indian tennis player. He rose to fame when he made his Grand Slam debut against Roger Federer. He is also the sixth Indian to win a Junior Grand Slam. In September 2020, Sumit Nagal became the first Indian in seven years to win a singles main draw match at a Grand Slam after he defeated United States’ Bradley Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open.

Wiki/Biography

Sumit Nagal was born on Saturday, 16 August 1997 (age 23 years; as in 2020) in Jhajjar, Haryana. His zodiac sign is Leo. He did his schooling from the Little Angels Senior Secondary School in Jhajjar, Haryana and the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi. Sumit was interested in cricket since he was a kid. Although, his father wanted him to do something different, and he persuaded him to play tennis. Sumit tried the sport, and he loved it. His love for tennis grew, and he started playing it regularly. His school coach also appreciated his game, and he advised his father to get Sumit professional training.

Sumit’s family moved to Delhi when he was 7 years old. His father enrolled him in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Tennis Academy. Sumit started participating in tournaments and other sports clubs. He also won his first tennis tournament at the age of 8.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 10″

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: Black

Family, Caste, and Wife

Sumit Nagal belongs to a Hindu Jat family^[1]MumbaiMirror. His father, Suresh Nagal, is a teacher, and his mother, Krishna Nagal, is a homemaker. He has an elder sister, Sakshi Shokeen. Sumit is in a long term relationship with a girl.

Career

Sumit was 10 years old when Mahesh Bhupathi, along with other international tennis players, launched a talent hunt to find, train, and produce India’s first Single’s Grand Slam winner by 2018, it was called Mission 2018. Sumit’s father took him to Bangalore to participate in this event. More than 5,000 students participated in the event and Sumit was one of the youngest players. He got an opportunity to play before Mahesh Bhupathi, and he, along with 2 other participants, was selected for the programme.

Mahesh Bhupathi trained him for 2 years. Sumit was also getting tips and advice from many international players who were a part of the Mission 2018 programme. Two years later, the programme got shut down due to some reason. Mahesh Bhupathi stopped training him, but he kept supporting Sumit financially. Canadian tennis player and coach, Bobby Mahal, had seen Sumit play, and he invited him to Canada to train and coach him. Sumit’s family could not afford to send him to Canada, but Mahesh Bhupathi took care of his travel and accommodation expenses in Canada. Sumit trained with Bobby Mahal from 2008 to 2014, during which he also started playing junior events and started rising in the points table.

Bhupathi became Sumit’s manager and mentor. He used to give him advice about how to play, which events to participate in, and how he can increase his ranking in the points table. In 2015, Sumit got accepted into the Schuettler Waske Tennis University, and he moved to Germany. In Germany, he trained with the German coach, Sascha Nensel. Sumit started participating in many junior tournaments and he even won many of them. In 2015, he paired up with the Vietnamese tennis star, Lý Hoàng Nam, for the Boys’ Doubles title in Wimbledon and won. It was his first Junior Grand Slam victory, making him the sixth Indian to win a Junior Grand Slam event.

In 2015, Sumit turned pro. He debuted for India in 2016 for the Davis Cup, and he performed very well. People noticed him and many people congratulated him for his amazing performance. In 2019, Sumit qualified for a Grand Slam event for the first time. He qualified for the US Open and made his debut against Roger Federer on 26 August 2019. He lost the match to Federer, but he won the first set against him. He became the first Indian to win a set against Roger Federer. After the match, Roger Federer praised Sumit, stating-

The first set was tough, I believe that Sumit would do very well in his career”

International tennis players and several Indian celebrities praised him on his performance. Virat Kohli, Lara Dutta, Manish Sisodia, Karti Chidambaram, and many more people congratulated Sumit on Twitter. The official handle of the US Open also posted a tweet about his performance.

We know this isn't the last we'll see of Sumit Nagal…

Remember the name 😉 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/JtW1xzA4k6

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2019

On 30 September 2019, he became the first Asian to win an ATP challenger tournament in Buenos Aires.

On 2 September 2020, Sumit Nagal created history when he became the first Indian in seven years to reach the second round of a Grand Slam in a singles match by defeating United States’ Bradley Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the US Open.

Sumit Nagal is the first Indian man to win a match at the #USOpen in 7 years.

He's onto the second round after defeating Klahn 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.@nagalsumit I #USOpen pic.twitter.com/h30hVPeaWu

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020

Controversy

In 2017, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) dropped Sumit from the Indian squad for the Davis Cup. The authorities stated that he was removed due to disciplinary reasons. Reportedly, Sumit missed some practice sessions in 2016 as he was hungover, and he had also invited his girlfriend to his hotel once without informing the authorities.

Favourites

Favourite Tennis Player: Novak Djokovic

Favourite Cricketer: Virat Kohli

Favourite Food: Kadhi-Chawal

Bike Collection

Sumit Nagal owns a KTM Duke 390.

Facts

• Sumit Nagal loves playing online games.

• In 2017, when Sumit was dropped from the Indian squad, the retired Indian tennis player, Somdev Devvarman, defended Sumit by writing an open letter to the AITA. He also stated that the purpose of the open letter was to expose the AITA. ^[2]News18

• During an interview, Sumit’s father, Suresh Nagal, stated that during the Mission 2018 tryouts, he did not think that Sumit will be selected as there were thousands of other players present there who were much older than him.
  

• In 2023, during an interview, Sumit opened up about his financial situation and disclosed that he had invested nearly all of his savings to sustain his participation in the ATP Tour. He revealed that he had approximately 900 euros (approx. Rs.80,000) in his bank account at that time. Sumit clarified that these expenses were primarily related to his accommodation at the training centre in Peine, Germany, and his travel costs for tournaments, either accompanied by his coach or a physio. He further explained that his annual travel expenses, with just one travelling coach and no physio, amounted to approximately 80 lakhs to 1 crore rupees. ^[3]Hindustan Times In the interview, Sumit further said,
  

  I felt when my ranking dropped after injury, no one wanted to help me, no one really believed that I could be back. That was disappointing because I feel whatever I do is not enough. It’s so hard to find financial support in India. To be honest I do not know what to do, I have given up.”